Chapter 33 Split
Luna’s POV
The hallway didn’t feel like a hallway anymore.
The lights above us flickered in sick pulses, buzzing like they were dying, and the shadows at the far end of the corridor stretched longer than they should’ve…like they were reaching.
Like they were listening.
Kai’s body snapped fully in front of mine, broad shoulders blocking my view, his stance widening like he was bracing for impact.
I could feel him.
Not just the heat of his skin, not just the furious tension in his muscles…
But the shift under it. That animal pressure.
That wildness crawling up his spine.
His breathing went deeper.
Too deep.
Like his lungs were pulling in something that wasn’t air.
“Kai…” My voice cracked.
His head tilted just slightly, as he heard me, but he didn’t turn.
His eyes stayed fixed on the darkness.
And when he spoke, his voice was no longer just a boy’s voice.
It was rougher and thicker.
Like a growl trying to pretend it was a sentence.
“Behind me,” he ordered.
I swallowed hard. “I am.”
The intercom above us crackled again.
A burst of static.
Then that whisper slid through the speakers like oil.
“She’s awake.”
My stomach dropped.
The principal—Mr. Halden—looked like someone had punched him in the lungs.
His mouth opened. Nothing came out.
His gaze darted to the security camera, still dead and dark above the office door.
“What is happening?” he rasped.
Ethan’s calm voice cut in smoothly, like a knife sliding into butter.
“Sir,” he said gently, “we should move Luna into the office. It’s safer. She’s in shock.”
His words sounded reasonable. Responsible.
The kind of thing adults trusted.
And the worst part?
Mr. Halden clung to them like a lifeline.
“Yes,” he stammered. “Yes, okay…Luna, come inside. We’ll call your parents…”
Kai’s shoulders rose, slow and dangerous.
“No.”
The single word hit the hallway like a warning shot.
Mr. Halden blinked. “Excuse me?”
Kai finally turned his head slightly. Not fully.
But just enough for me to see his profile.
His jaw was clenched so hard I thought his teeth would crack.
And his eyes…his eyes weren’t fully human anymore. The dark had swallowed too much of the white.
His pupils were wrong. Too sharp and too hungry.
Ethan watched him like he was studying an experiment.
“Blackthorne,” Ethan said, voice calm. “Don’t make this worse.”
Kai’s lips curled.
A flash of teeth.Not a smile but a threat.
“I’m not leaving her,” Kai said.
I felt his hand reach back without looking, finding my wrist again.
His fingers locked around me. Hard.
Like he was afraid that if he loosened even a little, I’d vanish.
The intercom crackled once more. This time the whisper didn’t just sound wrong.
It felt wrong.
Like it crawled into my skin.
“Run, Luna.”
My knees went weak.
I didn’t run..i couldn’t.
Because my body was caught between two forces…
Kai’s protection.
And whatever the hell was calling me from the dark.
Ethan took a slow step forward. Not toward Kai.
Toward me.
His voice softened, the way it always did when he wanted to look harmless.
“Luna,” he said quietly, “I know you’re scared. But Kai is… unstable right now.”
Kai’s grip tightened instantly.
His breathing hitched.
I felt it.
That razor-thin edge.
One more push and he would snap.
“I’m fine,” Kai growled.
Ethan tilted his head. “Are you?”
Then Ethan looked at Mr. Halden.
A simple glance and a silent suggestion.
Mr. Halden swallowed hard, then lifted his radio with shaking hands.
“Security,” he said, voice cracking. “I need security in the main hallway outside my office. Now.”
Kai’s head snapped toward him.
A low sound rumbled in his chest. It wasn’t a word, it wasn’t even a growl anymore.
It was something older and something wild.
“Kai,” I whispered urgently, stepping closer to him, pressing my hand to his arm. “Please… don’t.”
His gaze flicked to me.
For half a second, his eyes softened. Like he was fighting himself for me.
Then the hallway lights went out completely.
Blackness swallowed everything.
Someone screamed.
My heart slammed against my ribs so hard it hurt.
I couldn’t see anything.
But I could feel Kai.
His body moved instantly, pulling me flush to him, his arm wrapping around my waist like a steel band.
And in the dark…
Something moved.
Not footsteps. Not human movement.
A sliding shift and a whisper of air.
Like a shadow peeling itself off the wall….My power surged without permission.
Heat shot through my veins. My skin buzzed.
And the shadows answered.
I heard Kai’s breath go sharp. He felt it too.
“Luna,” he murmured, voice raw. “Stop….”
“I can’t,” I whispered, terrified.
Because it wasn’t me.
It was like the darkness wanted to obey.
Like it had been waiting for my permission to exist.
The emergency lights blinked on.
Dim red strips along the floor lit the hallway like a crime scene.
And there….
At the far end of the corridor….
Something stood. Not fully visible and not fully solid.
But wrong.
A shape made of shadow and hunger.
Mr. Halden made a choking sound.
“Oh my God…”
Kai shifted, body coiling like a spring.
His nails… his nails lengthened.
I saw it just for a second.
Black claws sliding out where human nails had been.
Kai’s teeth bared, longer too, and his voice came out broken with restraint.
“Get away from her.”
Ethan’s gaze flicked to the shadow-shape.
Then back to Kai and I saw it.
That tiny moment.
That flicker of satisfaction again.
Like he’d just confirmed something.
Like he’d wanted Kai to lose control.
Then Ethan stepped closer to Mr. Halden, placing a steady hand on the principal’s shoulder like a supportive student.
“Sir,” Ethan said calmly, “you need to get Luna inside. Now.”
Mr. Halden nodded shakily, desperate for direction.
“Yes…yes. Luna, come…come inside.”
Kai’s arm tightened around me.
“No,” he snarled again, louder.
Ethan sighed like Kai was a child throwing a tantrum.
“Kai,” he said, voice soft, “you’re scaring her.”
My breath caught. Because it was a lie, but it was a good one.
A poisonous one, it planted doubt and it gave the adults a reason to see Kai as the threat.
Not the protector.
And Kai….
Kai reacted exactly the way Ethan wanted.
His body jerked and his control cracked.
A growl ripped out of him, deep and violent, echoing down the hallway.
The shadow-shape at the end of the corridor twitched like it was responding.
I liked the sound.
Mr. Halden flinched so hard he stumbled back into the office doorway.
“That’s it!” he yelled, voice shaking. “Blackthorne, step back! Luna, inside! Now!”
Two security guards rounded the corner, rushing toward us.
Their faces went pale the moment they saw Kai’s eyes.
The claws and the teeth.
One of them reached for his taser.
“No!” I gasped.
Kai’s gaze snapped to the taser. His lips curled.
And the animal in him surged forward, ready to attack first.
Ethan moved fast.
Not in a way anyone noticed, not like a blur.
Just… in the right place at the right time.
He stepped between the guards and Kai, hands raised.
“Stop,” Ethan said calmly. “Don’t tase him. You’ll provoke him.”
The guard hesitated.
Kai’s eyes narrowed at Ethan.
Ethan’s expression stayed composed, but his gaze slid to me.
Soft, gentle, and like a savior.
“Luna,” Ethan said, voice low and soothing, “come with me. Let Kai calm down.”
My throat tightened. I stared at him.
My instincts screamed no. But the hallway was chaotic.
The shadow-thing was still there, watching.
Kai was half-shifted, trembling with restraint.
The guards were ready to attack him.
And Mr. Halden looked like he was about to faint.
Ethan reached for my arm.
Kai moved instantly.
His hand snapped out, gripping my wrist so hard it hurt.
“Don’t touch her,” Kai growled.
Ethan didn’t flinch.
He leaned closer, his voice barely audible.
“This is what you are, Kai,” he murmured. “A monster in a hallway full of witnesses.”
Kai’s eyes went black. Pure black.
My stomach dropped.
Because I felt it…
That last thread of control snapping.
“Kai!” I cried, squeezing his hand. “Look at me. Look at me!”
His gaze flicked to mine. For one second, I saw him.
The boy.
The one who held my hand under tablecloths, the one who put his jacket around my shoulders, the one who whispered stay with me like he meant it.
His chest rose and fell violently.
He fought….He fought so hard it made my heart ache.
But Ethan wasn’t done.
Ethan turned to the guards, voice sharp now.
“Take Kai,” he ordered. “Before he hurts her.”
The guard lunged. Kai reacted on instinct.
His shoulder slammed into the guard, sending him stumbling into the wall.
The taser fired.
A crack of electricity snapped through the air…
And hit Kai in the chest. Kai roared.
Not a human sound, not even close.
His body jerked violently, muscles spasming, and his eyes…His eyes turned fully animal.
The wolf surged forward.
I screamed his name.
“KAI!”
He dropped to one knee, shaking, teeth bared, and claws scraping the floor…
And the shadow-thing at the end of the hallway moved fast.
It slid closer, like it was drawn to the pain.
Like it wanted the moment Kai was weakest.
Ethan’s hand grabbed my elbow.
“Now,” he said urgently. “Luna, move!”
My body reacted before my mind did.
I stumbled backward….And the second my wrist slipped from Kai’s grasp…Kai’s head snapped up.
His eyes locked on me wild.
Panicked.
Like I’d just been ripped away from him.
“Luna…!” he snarled.
Ethan yanked me hard.
The office door opened behind me.
Mr. Halden shouted, “Get her inside!”
I twisted, trying to reach for Kai again.
“Kai! Kai, I’m here….”
But the guards were on him now. One pinning his arms and another trying to restrain him.
Kai fought like a trapped beast. His roar shook the hallway.
And the shadow-thing slid closer, and closer…
Until it hovered behind the guards and behind Kai.
Like it was waiting to strike.
My breath caught.
Because I realized something horrifying.
This wasn’t just about separating me from Kai…it was about leaving him exposed.
Ethan shoved me into the office.
The door slammed shut between us as glass rattled in the window.
I pressed my palms to it.
“Kai!” I screamed. Through the glass, I saw him.
Half-shifted, restrained and furious.
His gaze locked on mine like a vow and like a promise.
Then…
The hallway lights flickered again.
And the shadow behind him rose up….
Like a blade made of darkness.
Kai’s eyes widened, not with fear for himself.
With fear for me.
Because even separated, he still thought I was the target.
And the last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed the window was Ethan’s reflection in the
office glass…
Standing behind me, watching Kai, smiling, it was not sweet, not polite and not innocent.
It was like a razor smile.
Like he’d finally gotten what he wanted.
Then the intercom crackled one last time, soft as a lover’s breath.
“Now she’s alone.”
And I realized…
Ethan didn’t just separate me from Kai.
He just declared war.